President Biden canceled a three-day trip to Italy to remain in the United States and coordinate the federal response to the devastating fires raging in Los Angeles, his spokeswoman said Wednesday night.
Mr. Biden had been scheduled to leave Thursday evening after the funeral for former President Jimmy Carter in Washington. During the visit to Italy, which was to be his final presidential trip abroad, Mr. Biden was set to meet with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Mr. Biden, a Catholic, also planned to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
The fires that broke out across the Los Angeles region on Tuesday scuttled that plan. Mr. Biden had been in Los Angeles on Wednesday on a previously planned visit and changed his schedule to receive a briefing from the California governor and officials involved in the fire response.
Mr. Biden then flew back to Washington on Wednesday evening before the Carter funeral.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said that after arriving back at the White House, Mr. Biden decided to cancel his trip.
Previous presidents have made similar decisions when faced with natural disasters. In 2010, President Barack Obama canceled a trip to Indonesia and Australia during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the second time Mr. Obama had called off the same trip, after earlier canceling it to oversee negotiations over what became the Affordable Care Act in Congress.
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